The Creation and Development of the
Arkansas Folk Festival and the Ozark Folk Center:
An Oral History Project

Welcome to the Website of the Regional Studies Center's oral history project chronicling the genesis and early years of
the Arkansas Folk Festival and the Ozark Folk Center, both located in Mountain View, Arkansas. In 2003 the Lyon College
Regional Studies Center received a grant from the Arkansas Humanities Council and
National Endowment for the Humanities to help fund the project. With the exception
of one oral history that was conducted a couple years earlier but included here due to its relevance to the topic, the oral
histories in this collection were gathered by Lyon College's Director of Regional Studies, Dr. Brooks Blevins, and
students in his summer 2003 course, Ozark History and Culture. Photos in this website are provided courtesy of the Arkansas History Commission and the Ozark Folk Center.